Editor's Introduction Welcome to the Journal of World-Systems Research. This is our first "batch" of articles and book reviews. Electronic journals do not have issues as print journals do. Rather articles will usually be added to the journal individually as they become ready for publication. Volume 1 will be composed of all those articles that will be published in 1995. Each article has its own unique Number. Future articles will be added to the Volume as they become available, though we may again produce more "batches" in connection with special topics. This first batch contains: > four articles on quite different topics -- all relevant for comprehending the modern world-system, > eleven articles related to the special theme of "Hegemonic Rivalry : Past and Future," > and five book reviews. The first article, Number 1, is David Wilkinson's essay about the relationship between the evolutionary theory of Carroll Quigley and the policies proposed by Bill Clinton during his first two years as President. Clinton was a student of Quigley's at Georgetown, and Wilkinson contends that the student was greatly influenced by the teacher. Be that as it may, Wilkinson presents a helpful summary and critique of Quigley's explanation of the rise and fall of world-systems, ancient and modern. Number 2 is a discussion of alternative paths of contemporary and future global development by economist Myron Frankman. Frankman's critique of neo-liberalism and "national competitiveness" is 1 Journal of World-Systems Research , ' " !""' ' ...... . ,·· l"""" '"""""- """""""""' '""""""'""' ''""""""" 'I""""""'· -'"""[ """" '·") ' .. .,, •.... ''"""'- ,, ... ,""""""" • ·'Hhmllit!MHl'11I" ' """"""""'""''""""""""' '"""""""""""""""""'"""!"·"" '''""""'"'"''"""'*'""'"'''"'"""I'., I""""""""""--"''"'"'' '. __ ., .. , ............... _....,. I""""""""'"""'. ' """"''""""! '""""""""' I """""""'"'' . •· """"""""' ,"I. '""""""' --··· ... - ·""""'""' refreshingly set in a deeper temporal and broader structural context than most current discussions of global options. He poses possibility and the need for a global democratic federation to humanize the globalization of markets and investment. Number 3 is an analysis of Japanese raw materials procurement strategies by Stephen Bunker and Paul Ciccantell. Bunker and Ciccantell compare Japanese approaches with the strategies used by the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands during their rise to hegemony. Their careful research on aluminum, copper, iron and coal reveals an overall pattern in which the Japanese have inverted the approaches of contemporary raw materials conglomerates to structure a world market in which they are assured of cheap access to raw materials. The authors emphasize the importance of this aspect of global power as a basis for rising hegemony. Number 4 is an examination of the bases of continuing U.S. commitment to international free trade by Christoph Scherrer. Scherrer notes an emerging incongruity between the U.S. loss of comparative advantage in global industry and the continuing commitment to international free trade policies. His explanation points to the structure of the state apparatus, public support for global leadership, the current weakness of labor unions and the weakness of alternative ideologies of development. Numbers 5 through 15 focus on various aspects of the problem of future hegemonic rivalry in the core of the world-system. These articles are briefly described in the Introduction to the Thematic Section. The five book reviews are all contained in subdirectory Number 16. And future reviews published in Volume 1 (1995) will also be located within Number 16. Number 16.1 is Terry Boswell's review of Warren Wagar's _A Short History of the Future_. Number 16.2 is Carl Dassbach's review of Robert Perrucci's _Japanese Auto Transplants in the Heartland_. Number 16.3 is Tom Hall's review of Andre Gunder Frank and Barry Gills's _The World System: Five Hundred or Five Thousand Years?_. Number 16.4 is Alexander Joffe's review of Guillermo Algaze's _The Uruk World System_. And Number 16.5 is Wilma Dunaway and Don Clelland's review of Gary Gereffi and Miguel Korzeniewicz's _Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism_. This is the debut of the Journal of World-Systems Research. With one exception each of the regular articles has been reviewed anonymously by at least one referee and the authors have made revisions taking into account the criticisms and suggestions of the referees. I thank all the authors and all the referees who contributed their energies to this new venture. I also thank the editorial assistants -- Bruce Podobnik, Susan Manning and Tom Brown for their help in producing this first batch. Without them the world would have had to wait much longer before seeing the debut of _JWSR_. Professor Alejandro Portes of the Department of Sociology and Dean Stephen Knapp of the School of Arts and Sciences also deserve thanks for supporting _JWSR_. Our Book Review editor Dale Wimberley also deserves praise and thanks for his excellent and just-in-time efforts. And thanks also to the book reviewers for their contributions. Please send suggestions for books to be reviewed to Dale Wimberley, Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic University, Blacksburg, VA. 24061 dale.wimberley@vt.edu Will an electronic journal be taken seriously? Will people respect something that does not cost $50? We have believed that the proof is the content, not the form. You decide. Chris Chase-Dunn Baltimore, Maryland, USA February 3 ,1995 3 Journal of World-Systems Research